Villages are said to make up for the backbone of the Indian economy. Maruti Suzuki has been tapping the rural markets in the country to boost sales even as the economic slowdown is prevalent in the automotive industry in India. The company devised a five-year plan for expansion into the rural markets. The company covered about 44,000 villages last year and during November this year, the number increased to nearly 60,000 villages. Maruti Suzuki is optimistic of reaching out to 1,00,000 villages by March 2014.
The automotive industry has witnessed a tumble in sales by around 4-5 percent. The rural market contributes to about 30 percent of sales and on the contrary, rural sales have jumped by a margin of 18 percent in India between April and November this fiscal year. Currently, there are 6.51 lakh villages in India and Maruti Suzuki is hopeful to have presence in at least 15 percent of those villages by March 2014. The company has left no stone unturned when it comes to offering service facilities in the rural market. There are about 700 authorised rural outlets accompanied by workshops that offer service under warranty to an extent. Also, 650 mobile vans are allocated across the country to cater to customers at their homes.
As far as retail sales are concerned, Maruti Suzuki is up one percent up to November this fiscal in comparison to the same timeframe last year. The economic situation along with political unrest has resulted in no improvement as far as the overall market situation is concerned. Maruti Suzuki is aiming to export 1.2 lakh units this year. However, the unsteady overseas policies have cast a shadow of doubt for the company.
Maruti Suzuki also had plans of expanding its production capacities but has kept the agenda on hold at the moment since the demand for its cars have just become lukewarm. The company is optimistic about the steps that the government is expected to take after the general elections next year to boost economic growth as well as manufacturing. Certainly, Maruti Suzuki is in a better position in comparison to its competitors in India.
